Affordable Care Act: Updates

The Associated Press An overview of some of the key changes to health care services under the Affordable Care Act: ESSENTIAL HEALTH BENEFITS Under the law, health insurers must cover 10 essential benefits. This will make health plans more costly, but also more comprehensive. Starting next year, the rules will apply to all plans offered to individuals or through the small-group market to employers with 50 or fewer workers. The

The Associated Press How do I know whether “Obamacare” applies to me? Polls show many Americans remain mystified by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or “Obamacare” as it is commonly known. But there’s an obvious starting point: Do you have health care coverage? If your employer provides health insurance for you, it’s likely you don’t have to do anything on Oct. 1, when enrollment begins. The president has

WASHINGTON (AP) — Getting covered through President Barack Obama’s health care law might feel like a combination of doing your taxes and making a big purchase that requires research. You’ll need accurate income information for your household, plus some understanding of how health insurance works, so you can get the financial assistance you qualify for and pick a health plan that’s right for your needs. The process involves federal agencies

Affordable Care Act: Archetype Profiles

PHOENIX (AP) — Helena Gudger is the type of person health insurance companies need on the books as the federal Affordable Care Act begins to roll out: Young, relatively healthy and hungry for coverage. The 26-year-old Phoenix resident has gone the past four years without health insurance, using clinics and the county hospital for checkups, routine tests and visits to a gynecologist. She pays cash, checks prices and tries to

LAWTON, Okla. (AP) — Chris Gatliff, a 38-year-old diabetic, says he feels like a victim of politics. His home state, Oklahoma, opted against accepting the expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. The result is that thousands of Oklahomans who would have qualified under the expanded program are left in limbo about their health insurance. At the same time, a Medicaid-linked program called Insure Oklahoma that provides Gatliff with

DENVER (AP) — He makes just $10,000 a year as a clinical professional counselor, so Morgan Kinney decided to spend what little extra money he had this year paying down student debt rather than buying health insurance. The 31-year-old Denver man figured he would have no choice but to buy insurance next year to comply with the new federal health insurance mandate, so last month he entered his personal information